CHESHIRE county councillor Eveleigh Moore Dutton accepts the current system is not perfect, but still she is dead against the Government's proposals.

She said: 'Cheshire would be like the timid child at the edge of a playground, standing at the side while the big boys of Manchester and Liverpool fight it out.'

She added: 'There is a huge amount of money which would be spent, as in the case with the Scottish Parliament, as well as all the setting-up costs.

'They talk about giving a greater voice to the people in the North West, but we already have MPs who act as Cheshire's voice.'

Cllr Moore Dutton says the move would also be anti-democratic. 'They want to have 35 people on the assembly, but we currently have 700 councillors and a lot would go,' she added.

'There are 7m electors in the North West and if there were 35 members that would be one for every 200,000 people. That's not bringing government closer to the people, that's taking it further away.'

Cheshire County Council's Tory leader, Paul Findlow, said: 'In fact, 9,997 people out of every 10,000 either voted 'No' or expressed no interest whatsoever in having a referendum.'

However, if the people vote for change, Cllr Findlow believes only the county council could deliver public services at a reasonable price within an exercise which, in overall terms, would be a 'nightmare' for taxpayers.